May 2020 Baja Bulletin

COVID-19 Updates for Baja California

-The U.S.-Mexico land borders will remain closed at least until May 19, 2020. U.S. Citizens and Canadian Citizens have been allowed to cross back north into the U.S.

-The Mexican government has declared a state of emergency with all non-essential businesses closed and non-essential activities banned throughout the country until May 30, 2020.

-Hotels, resorts, time shares, and home rentals throughout Mexico have been closed since April 5, 2020. There are a few accommodations along the peninsula that have been permitted to operate at limited capacity for essential travel.

-Some of the California/Baja land borders are now operating on reduced hours. The following are the current hours for border crossings:
San Ysidro: open 24 hours
(PedWest is closed but PedEast remains open 24 hours)
Otay Mesa: open 6am-10pm
Tecate: 5am-2pm daily
Calexico West: open 24 hours
Calexico East: open 6am-2pm
Andrade: open 6am-2pm

-For Emergency Assistance for U.S. citizens in Mexico, call 55-8526-2561 from Mexico or 1-844-528-6611 from the United States. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico has put together a COVID-19 webpage or you can follow them on Facebook for updates.

Discover Baja Membership Promo & Gift Cards

For the month of May, Discover Baja is offering members 18 months of membership for the usual annual rate of $39. That’s 18 months of membership for the price of 12. Members who renew for two years will receive a third year for free. Your membership does not have to be renewing this month in order for you to take advantage of this offer. We’re also selling Discover Baja gift cards which can be used toward membership, insurance, or books/maps from DBTC. Please call us at 800-727-2252 to take advantage of either of these offers.

Yahoo Email Addresses

The Discover Baja insurance renewal system has been unable to deliver mail to Yahoo email addresses. If you have a Yahoo email address on file with us, it’s possible that you are not receiving your reminder emails for membership and insurance renewals. If you have another type of email address you could use instead, please let us know by calling the office at 800-727-2252.

New 20 Peso Coin

Mexico has released a new 20 peso coin into circulation and will be phasing out the 20 peso bill. The new coin has 12 sides and celebrates the 500th anniversary of the founding of Veracruz. One side of the coin depicts the original Veracruz town hall and the other side of the coin features Mexico’s coat of arms, as all Mexican coins do.

Assisting Baja During COVID-19

Baja Californian families have been deeply affected by COVID-19. There are a number of charities providing relief programs to help the region during this time and we encourage you to help if you are able.

Project Mercy Baja
Project Mercy Baja is a non-profit that builds houses for those in need in the Tijuana/Tecate areas of Baja California. They need assistance raising funds to purchase materials for construction. You can find out more on the Project Mercy Baja website and can donate by going to their GoFundMe campaign.

Ensenada Rotary Clubs
Five Rotary Clubs in Ensenada have banded together to help raise funds to assist with COVID-19 needs. The funds will help to purchase PPE for medical personnel at the General Hospital in Ensenada and will also help to give food to families in need who were affected by COVID-19. You can find out more on their Facebook page or donate on their Moneypool platform.

International Community Foundation
ICF is working to help families in Mexico who have been deprived of income, food, and access to health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. ICF’s local nonprofit partners will distribute the funds to address these critical needs of the communities in the form of food baskets, medical and hygiene supplies, and support for first responders. You can learn more and make a donation on the ICF website.